Woman says she was floored when she got $5,000 water bill

WALTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Walton County woman said she got quite a shock when her water bill showed up and it said she owed more than $5,000.

Christina Bryant told Channel 2’s Lauren Pozen that her average water bill is usually around $50. But that wasn’t the case with this past month’s bill.

“I can understand if we did use that water. Then, OK, we owe it,” Bryant said.

But the problem for Bryant and her family she said is they didn’t use that much water.

“I got mad because I already knew what it was,” Bryant told Pozen.

Bryant said she got a notice about two weeks ago from the water company saying there was a leak, so the water would be turned off.

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“I went and checked all of our faucets, toilets and shower and tub. I even myself went under the house,” Bryant said.

She told Pozen she couldn’t find a leak anywhere, nor could her uncle who is a plumber. So she called the city of Monroe Water Department and spoke with the person on-call.

“They said that it is probably just the meter, that they were going to come out the next morning to replace it,” Bryant said.

She said they never came, but she did get a bill for $5,125.82. Bryant once again called the water department.

“The director was basically saying that we were lying, that there was a big leak somewhere that we fixed,” Bryant said.

The water department director said this case under investigation, but added their data showed that meter was working properly.

“I am just praying that we get this taken care of so we don’t have to pay 5,000,” Bryant said.

The Bryants were given a new meter, while the old one gets tested to see if there’s any defects with it.

If there is, the water department said adjustments will be made to the bill.